Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2011 June 1 - 7 [PEACE]

7-year old Article 9 Assn. : Constitution can lead Japan away from nuclear energy

The Article 9 Association, combining people with the objective of defending Article 9 of the Constitution, held a lecture commemorating the 7th anniversary of its founding on June 4 in Tokyo and called for a move away from nuclear power generation by making use of the Constitution.

Novel Prize writer Oe Kenzaburo reminded the 2,000 participants that the Atomic Energy Basic Law was enacted in 1955, a year after the fishing boat Daigo Fukuryumaru was showered with radiation from the U.S. hydrogen bomb test in 1954. Oe said that Japan could have chosen to not construct any nuclear power plants under the peace Constitution, and called on the meeting to renew the determination to work for peace.

Writer Sawachi Hisae said that the Fukushima nuclear plant accident has revealed that nuclear technology at present is not capable of preventing a nuclear reactor from a meltdown. She proposed to make good use of Article 9 and other constitutional clauses as vehicles for social reform.

Constitutional scholar Okudaira Yasuhiro said, “The government’s stretched interpretation of Article 9 banning the maintenance of war potential has allowed the maintenance of the Self-Defense Forces and even the existence of nuclear weapons in Japan. Japan, now undergoing the nuclear reactor crisis, must clearly redefine its ban on nuclear weapons.”

The Article 9 Association will hold a national exchange meeting on November 19.